Centre Cancels NEET Grace Marks, Offers Re-Test Option For Affected Students

The National Testing Agency (NTA) informed the Supreme Court that a committee has been formed to review the results of over 1,563 NEET-UG 2024 candidates who received "grace marks" due to time lost during the exam. The committee has decided to annul the scorecards of these candidates. As a solution, these students will have the opportunity to participate in a re-test scheduled for June 23, with results to be announced before June 30, as per the NTA's submission to the Supreme Court.

During a hearing, the Centre's counsel informed the vacation bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta that the NTA panel had determined the awarding of compensatory marks to 1,563 students, due to time loss, created a "skewed situation" since these marks were limited to unattempted questions.

After assessing the situation, the committee recommended canceling the scorecards of these students and informing them of their actual marks without the grace marks.

In response, the court ordered, "It has been suggested that the score-cards of the affected 1,563 candidates issued on June 4, 2024 will stand cancelled and withdrawn. These students will be informed of their actual scores. They will be given an option to appear for a re-examination. Results of the students who do not wish to appear for the re-examination will be based on their exam held on May 5."

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The Supreme Court reiterated during the hearing that it would not halt the NEET-UG 2024 counseling process, stating, “Counseling will proceed as planned,” and noting the broader implications of disrupting the examination process.

The May 5 exam, conducted by NTA across 4,750 centers for nearly 24 lakh students, has faced allegations of question paper leaks and questionable awarding of grace marks, prompting protests and legal challenges in multiple high courts and the Supreme Court.

In addition, an unusual number of 67 students achieved a perfect score of 720, including six from a single center in Faridabad, Haryana, raising suspicions of cheating.

Students in Delhi protested on June 10, demanding an investigation into the alleged irregularities, asserting that the granted grace marks unfairly contributed to the high number of top scorers.

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